Ingénierie des systèmes d’irrigation et de drainage

Farmers Willingness to Pay for an Irrigation Scheduling Tool and the Constraint on Information

Abstract

T Foster

Due to climate change, water scarcity and the need for more water resources are growing in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, smallholder farmers may be unable to effectively manage irrigation water for sustainable crop production due to a lack of information and access to irrigation scheduling decision support tools. Wetting Front Detector (WFD) is one of the simple, low-cost, and user-friendly soil water monitoring tools that have been developed to overcome the complexity of irrigation scheduling. However, the tools' commercial viability is contingent on effective demand for the services. The Wetting Front Detector's (WFD) information has an impact on farmers' willingness to pay (WTP), according to this study. First, we find that 98% of farmers reported a WTP higher than zero and that approximately 57% of farmers have information regarding the WFD. Second, although most farmers are willing to pay a small fee for the WFD, they are extremely price-sensitive. Thirdly, after taking into account differences between irrigation communities, irrigation data increases farmers' WTP for WFD by $6. According to a heterogeneity analysis, women, young people, and those with high incomes have higher WTP than men, adults, and those with low incomes. The findings suggest that future adoption will rise as a result of price subsidies and increased awareness of the new irrigation scheduling tool.